Over the span of the next two weeks, Hank would notice Kurt in the library and made it routine to stay up late with him. He hadn't had to carry the other to bed again, and was glad Kurt didn't bring it up. Kurt would work his hardiest, slacking only when he would crack a few jokes or get distracted by telling Hank about his day at school when Hank wouldn't make him stop, taking genuine interest in the boy's ramblings.

The more Hank noticed Kurt in the library, the more Kurt noticed the lack of Hank around dinner. Everyone ate dinner at the same time, give or take a few people who were more nocturnal than others. Kurt thought Hank might just get something and eat in his room, but Kurt had yet to see him. Finally, Kurt gave into his need to help others by taking two plates with portions of most things and bringing them down. He knocked on Hank's bedroom door with his tail, but no answer. Next he did the same to the lab door, and sure enough, Hank McCoy answered. He had a small blotch of some pink substance on his lab coat that wouldn't wipe off.

"Oh, what a pleasent surprise seeing you here." Hank smiled. Suddenly as he smelled and saw the food the boy was holding, his stomach made a soft growling noise that Kurt barley heard. After chuckling, Kurt asked, "Can I come in? I brought you dinner. I zought maybe ve could eat togezer. It gets pretty loud in ze dining hall, und even I can get a bit annoyed by it."

"Of course." Hank shrugged off his lab coat and hung it up neatly after letting the other Blue mutant into his lab. "I will have to ask that we eat at the coffee table. I would rather not contaminate my specimens on the counter." Kurt nodded at Hank's words, just glad his invitation was accepted.

They ate in silence at first, but Kurt broke the silence when he realized it had set in. "So, Mr. McCoy, I vas hoping zat maybe I could get to know you a bit more. Chat a bit. I like talking to you und studying vis you, but I vas hoping zat maybe I could get to know more about you." The sudden words surprised Hank who was immideatly agreeing with him. "Of course, that would be nice. I would like to get to know you more as well. Of course I have your physical charts and all, but I don't know much more about you besides what I know from the said charts, and your X-Men training."

Kurt was now finishing up the biscuit his meal came with. "Alright zen-" He quickly realized he didn't know what to ask about Hank. "Um, how about you tell me somezing you sink I might not know."

Fair enough. Hank thought about it for a moment before speaking. "Well, one time when I was about your age, I decided it was a good idea to go out with some friends and join them for a beer. It was illegal, and I knew that. I just really wanted to impress this girl. Low and behold, the eighteen year old me with a toothpick waist and no prior drinking experience couldn't hold the alcohol. Lets just say I painted her pretty pink high heels a gross, green."

"Eww!" Kurt laughed as he gave a light play punch to Hank's arm. "Zat is so gross! Vay to start off on such a high bar. I don't know vhat vould beat zat." As Kurt went into deep thought, his tail thumped against the chair he was in. "I sink ze closist I can get is vone time I vas vis mein brozer, fishing for dinner, und he decided it vould be a gut idea to try und catch ze fish by hand. He vas fourteen un I vas probably about twelve, so I vas so excited to see mein brozer do somezing cool, und he vas just as excited to show off-" As Kurt spoke, Hank raised a brow. Kurt had a brother? The only sibling he had on record was his adopted sister Rouge.

Hank continued to listen with interest as Kurt laughed. "Vhen he reached in, I jumped in und as I did zat, He jumped from ze surprise und landed face first into ze vater. It vasn't zat deep. A few feet furzer zough it had a really far slope. Vhen he came back up to see me standing in ze vater, all I could do vas laugh. He had so much mud in his hair." Kurt was smiling sweetly. "I know its not ze best story, but I remember it fondly."

The look on Kurt's face made his own smile grow even bigger. "I didn't know you had a brother. Was he anything like you?" He hoped not to offend him, know Kurt would know he meant appearance wise. "He wasn't on your medical papers."

Kurt's smile dropped pretty fast and he looked away. "Um... No.. He vas mein adoptive muters son." Hank nodded. He knew about the adoption and the circus, but just bare minimum. He reached out to gently hold the other's shoulder, thumb rubbing gently.

Before he could apologize, Kurt spoke up. "I know vhat you are going to say. It's fine. Don't vorry about it." Kurt slowly looked up, but adverted his eyes when he saw how pittying Hank's eyes were. "You don't seem fine. I won't force you to say anything, but I will listen."

Looking right back up, Kurt seemed surprised, but then nodded. "I... Danke. I vill. You have been so kind to me. I shouldn't just mention somezing und zen drop it." Instead of telling Kurt its fine and to keep it to himself, he could tell the boy needed to share. "I am all ears." His hand was now to himself, trying not to make the other uncomfortable.

"Ze Professor already knows... He found ze memories vhen I vas having nightmares." They were not nightmares. They were night terrors. No need to worry Hank with it though. This story is going to be enough. "Lets just say zat ze circus vas no place for a child." He wasn't going to speak of a lot. Just the most prominant event. His eyes dropped to the floor as he lost his appitite. "Ze last time I vas zer, I had been vaiting for mein brozer Stefan to get back from ze shop in town. I obviously could not go vis him because of how I look. He vas taking so long und-" He paused for a moment, tail curling tight around his own leg.

Seeing Kurt like this caused Hank to feel a deep pain in his chest and stomach, eating away. What happened to this boor boy. Kurt was only sixteen when he left the circus. What happened to cause Kurt to get all shy and upset like this?

"I vent down into ze voods to see if I could find him und I-I..." Kurt was finding it extremely hard to keep talking. The larger of the two scooted his chair closer and lay a hand on his back, carefully rubbing as he also took his hand for support. "It is alright Kurt. You can do this. You can stop at any time, but if you need to, I am still listening."

This helped Kurt. He was starting to shake, but he was finding it a little smoother to say. He tightly held the other's hand, still not looking up. So much for a nice dinner. "I found him in ze voods a bit off ze trail. Zere he vas.. He had a darkness in him. He alvays varned me, but I never took him seriously. I-I should have listened-" A reassuring squeeze to his hand got him back on track and stopped him from hyperventilating. He barley held back his tears as he choked out, "H-He had brutaly murdered three children und vas going to kill ze last who vas tied down to a tree. H-He had hurt her so badly.. She vas bleeding everyvhere. I couldn't tell vhere from. I immideatly jumped at him on to his back. I grabbed him by the jaw und pulled back, fighting over control. I got him to drop ze knife, but when I vas still pulling und tvisting t-to make him stop fighting, h-his neck just-It vas so loud..." Kurt's voice got quiet as the tears that had welled, started to drop. Hank sat in shock for a few seconds before he could pull Kurt to lean into his chest.

"Oh god Kurt." He buried his face in the sobbing boy's hair as he closed his eyes. "Its is alright. Its over... You are here with us. You didn't mean to do what you did, but you did what you had to. I-I'm so sorry, Kurt..." Although he had so many questions, like what happened to the last kid and how it all ended, he just sat there, holding the shaking mess of a mutant.

After a while, Kurt spoke again and looked up at the other. "I'm sor-" He was surprised when he was interupted. "-No. Don't be sorry. I am glad you trusted me enough to talk to me about that event. I wish it hadn't happened, but it did." He moved the hand from his back to be in his hair and stroked his head calmingly, still holding a hand. He wasn't usualy too good at comfotring, but this felt natural. My door is open any time you want to talk. Lab door, and room door."

Kurt relaxed and smiled a little bit, nodding. "Danke... Thank you..."

Once Kurt was calmed even more, He made himself sit up and take their plates. "I hope ve can do zis again. Just hopefully vis less tears." Kurt was already joking around, masking his pain. Hank saw right through him, but he nodded. "Of course."